The present invention relates to a three-wheeled vehicle in which a dog or other quadruped pet can be transported while the pet owner is jogging or running behind the vehicle. This invention enables an individual who enjoys jogging and/or running with their pet to have their pet accompany them when the pet is not able or disposed to do so.
Three-wheeled strollers designed for carrying an infant while an adult is jogging or running have long been known in the prior art. A typical example of such a “baby jogger” is taught by Jacobs, U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,891. The baby jogger vehicle has a tricycle-type wheel configuration, with one wheel in the front and two wheels in the rear. A seat to accommodate an infant in the upright seated position is positioned above the rear wheels. A handle for pushing and guiding the vehicle extends from the portion of the vehicle supported by the two rear wheels.
The principal problem encountered in adapting such a “baby jogger” for pets is the fact that dogs and other quadrupeds do not sit the same way humans do. In the upright seated position, humans lean back with their legs dangling in front of them. Dogs and most other quadruped animals, on the other hand, sit leaning forward on their front legs. Therefore, a pet jogger should be designed for load distribution toward the front of the vehicle, as opposed to the baby jogger which distributes the load to the rear.
For optimal stability of a three-wheeled vehicle, the load should be concentrated above the wider wheel base afforded by the two wheels with a connecting axle. Applying this principle to a pet jogger with forward load distribution, it follows that the optimal design is not the standard tricycle configuration, but rather a reversed tricycle configuration, with two wheels in the front and one in the rear.
One version of a three-wheeled vehicle primarily designed for transporting aged, infirm or disabled pets is taught by Gordon, U.S. Pat. No. 6,913,271. But Gordon ignores the different load distribution of a pet vehicle and retains the standard tricycle configuration of a baby jogger. Furthermore, the Gordon design is not adaptable to jogging or running on rugged terrain, since the platform on which the pet sits is supported directly on the axles of the front and rear wheels, thus limiting ground clearance height to the radius of the wheels. In the Gordon “Pet Buggy,” moreover, the shock of passing over curbing or other irregularities in the vehicle's path is imparted directly to the platform on which the pet sits, without any cushioning or shock-absorbing mechanism.
Consequently, the Gordon “Pet Buggy” does not address the need for a stable vehicle in which a pet can comfortably sit while its owner jogs or runs. This is precisely the need that the present invention is designed to address.